BILBAO, Spain (AP) — Tens of thousands of separatists rallied in the troubled northern Basque region on Saturday to demand from the government that it allows a newly launched pro-independence party to run in upcoming elections.

Those behind the party, called Sortu, insist it rejects armed group ETA’s violence and hence merits legal status and the right to field candidates in May election.

However, Spain’s attorney general on Friday said it was merely a repackaged version of Batasuna, a party banned in 2003 on grounds it was part of ETA. It is up to a special section of the Supreme Court to decide on the new party’s legal status.